Gangster Squad released on January 11, 2013

Gangster Squad

Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and-if he has his way-every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons. Gangster Squad is a 2013 American action crime film directed by Ruben Fleischer, from a screenplay written by Will Beall. It starred Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Nick Nolte, Emma Stone, and Sean Penn. The film is loosely based on the story of Los Angeles Police Department officers and detectives forming a group called the "Gangster Squad unit" who attempt to keep the city safe from Mickey Cohen and his gang during the 1940s and '50s. It was originally set to be released September 7, 2012,but in the wake of the 2012 Aurora shooting, the release date was changed to January 11, 2013 by Warner Bros. Pictures.While the film, characters, and events are mostly fictionalized, the LAPD did have a unit called the "Gangster Squad" which was created when Clemence B. Horrall was the LAPD's Chief of Police. A similar theme is the basis of a 1996 film, Mulholland Falls, and a 2013 television miniseries, Mob City.







Initial release: January 11, 2013 (USA)
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Running time: 113 minutes
Adapted from: Gangster Squad
Cinematography: Dion Beebe


Directed by Ruben Fleischer
Produced by Bruce Berman
Ruben Fleischer
Dan Lin
Kevin McCormick
Jon Silk
Michael Tadross
Screenplay by Will Beall
Based on Tales from the Gangster Squad 
by Paul Lieberman
Starring Josh Brolin
Ryan Gosling
Sean Penn
Nick Nolte
Emma Stone
Anthony Mackie
Giovanni Ribisi
Michael Peña
Robert Patrick
Music by Steve Jablonsky
Cinematography Dion Beebe
Editing by Alan Baumgarten
James Herbert
Studio Village Roadshow Pictures
Lin Pictures
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release dates
January 11, 2013
Running time 113 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $60 million 

Box office $105,200,903


Los Angeles, 1949: A secret crew of police officers led by two determined sergeants work together in an effort to take down the ruthless mob king Mickey Cohen who runs the city.It's 1949 Los Angeles, and gangster Mickey Cohen has moved in, with the intention of controlling all criminal activity in the city. He has bought local judges and police, and no one is willing to cross him or testify against him. Everyone except Seargant John O'Mara, a former World War II soldier, whose goal is to settle with his family in a peaceful Los Angeles. Police Chief William Parker decides to form a special unit whose mission is to take down Cohen, and chooses O'Mara to lead the unit. O'Mara chooses 4 cops and asks another cop and vet, Jerry Wooters to join him but Wooters is not interested. But when he witnesses the murder of a young boy by Cohen's people, he joins them, and they decide to take apart Cohen's organization. Cohen wonders if a rival is going after him, but eventually he realizes it's the cops



Glossy, slick, bloody, violent, dumb, crowd-pleasing, and undeniably entertaining. Filled with every gangster genre cliché rolled into one, GANGSTER SQUAD ain't high art, nor is it aiming to be. It seemed as if director Fleischer was trying to tell this story in the most fun possible way, and he succeeds with flying colors. The film is at its best when its loud and dumb but falters when it tries to be anything more than that.

The cast seems like they're having fun, especially Sean Penn who has a field day with his role as the villain Mickey Cohen. The lines he's given are pure gold. Josh Brolin does a great job as the lead and Ryan Gosling is charming and charismatic as usual. However, Emma Stone is underused with a thankless role, but it's nice that she's in the film anyway. Overall, GANGSTER SQUAD is fun entertainment. No judgments, little pretense.